MOVES to build a Birmingham memorial to martyrs killed in Bangladesh 57 years ago could stir up racial hatred, it has been claimed.

The proposal to unveil a statue to commemorate the deaths of intellectuals who lost their lives fighting to have Bengali recognised as a national language has split the local community in Aston, with one prominent Labour party member claiming the idea could lead to trouble on the streets.

The dispute centres on the intervention by prospective Liberal Democrat general election candidate for Ladywood, Ayoub Khan, who is openly angling for votes by supporting a proposal to site a £150,000 statue in Aston. But Labour fears the memorial will cause resentment among the Pakistani community.

Zulfigar Khan, a prominent Labour activist and board member of Aston Pride, said: “If a young lad from any community paints something on the statue they will blame the Pakistani community and there will be fighting, which we don’t need. My fear is that it is only being proposed in order to win votes at the election.”

Ayoub Khan, who is a Birmingham city councillor, admitted his backing for the statue was intended to build up support for his Parliamentary aspirations among some 6,000 Bangladeshi voters in the Ladywood constituency.